LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is an action game that brings together over 100 Marvel heroes and villains from various franchises. The player takes control of the good guys to save the Earth from a team led by Galactus, known as The Devourer of Worlds, in a blocky cartoonish style.
The game world consists of an explorable open world set in Manhattan and a series of self-standing story mode levels located beyond Earth, including locations like Asgard, Bifrost, and Asteroid M. Marvel-related buildings in New York can be entered, each with its own storyline narrated by Deadpool.
Players start with Iron Man and Hulk as playable characters, soon joined by Spider-Man. Additional characters are unlocked by advancing through the game or collecting Gold Bricks found while exploring Manhattan, completing side quests, or completing story mode levels. Other collectibles like Minikits, Character tokens, and Vehicle tokens can be obtained to unlock extra outfits and vehicles. With over 150 playable characters, each with their own Super Powers and moves.
The game features voice-acted dialogues from a cast of 27 people. The Wii U version allows for off-TV play using the GamePad, while two-player mode uses both players' screens to avoid split-screen.